Dark Mystic Falls: The Destination
by ShatterEveryWindow
Summary: After the death of Elena Gilbert, Mystic Falls seems to fall into a dark slump, but when Damon creates alliances for revenge with Katherine Pierce, a woman with a common enemy, tensions rise up to their ultimate destination; Nova Scotia for the Cure for vampirism. Suspicions of Silas lie amongst the other dangers of getting it, but will revenge be worth the cost?
1. Chapter 1: Elena

**A/N:** Hello! Okay, first, I have some things to explain.  
The plot for this is kind of...co-authored, I guess you could say. I wrote the story, but the reasoning for that is because of a website that I'm on called_** Dark Mystic Falls**_. Dark Mystic Falls is a website dedicated to roleplay in specific and after about five months of the ongoing site and many interesting plot twists and turns, I was encouraged by some fellow roleplayers to turn our RP into a fanficion. So I did. I obviously had to make a change here and there to make it work as a story, but otherwise it's much the same. Anywho, if you read and enjoy this story, then** we would _LOVE_ if you would head on over to my profile page where I provided a link to the website along with more info, and you can go ahead and join us**!**  
**If anyone from DMF is reading this, then I thank you so much for...everything, you guys are amazing, I love you! I love being able to have intense plot twists and...rather weird out of character conversations with you guys, so thank you for being so amazing! You guys own this just as much as I do! _**NOTE**__**:**_ This story takes place after the season 3 finale of TVD, but with one twist: Damon's blood had already run its course through Elena's system and she couldn't be saved, the vamp blood wore off, thus, resulting in her dying from Rebekah running her and Matt off the bridge.  
**DISCLAIMER:** I do **_not_ **own _the Vampire Diaries_ or the**_ Dark Mystic Falls_** roleplay site!  
Alright, well, that's all for this update! (Sorry if I'm rambling in this Author's Note...) Thanks for reading! Enjoy!

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_**Prologue:**_

Dead. Dead and _gone_. Elena Gilbert wasn't coming back. Even if the dead were rumored to be coming back to life, Elena surely wouldn't. It...of all the luck in the world, that sure as hell wouldn't be mine. It wouldn't be Stefan's, either. Granted, he probably felt worse than I did. He blamed himself for what happened, even though he wasn't the one who drove Elena and Donovan off of Wickery Bridge; we had Blondie to thank for that. Rebekah had somehow ground logic in that killing Elena would solve the problems for her family; so that's just what she did. She killed Elena, and she killed Alaric who had been magically linked to her like a lifeline by Esther.

Stefan had left town the night of her death, lucky bastard. Why hadn't I? I didn't know. Maybe I was just lazy. Maybe I was tired. There was nothing here for me anymore, as if there ever was in the first place. Elena was gone, Alaric was gone, Stefan was gone, everything was just...gone. I had no reason to stay.

But for some reason...I couldn't bring myself to leave.

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_**Chapter 1: Elena**_

**Damon POV**

**Two Months Earlier**

I wasn't listening to what the pastor was saying.

In fact, I didn't listen to anything at all. Not the whispers that floated throughout the sanctuary, not the ironic droplets or rain that pounded to the eerie beat of the thunderstorm that raged outside, not even the frantic, pounding heartbeats of the weeping humans that lined the mahogany pews.

A funeral. I bet that's not quite where Elena had pictured herself in the next year, let alone her own. I supposed that I could be at fault, maybe Stefan could be, hell, probably both. Regardless, the only reason that they'd turned back and driven over that bridge was because of her inevitable choice between us. We'd done it again, of course. Somehow, we had let ourselves get stuck in the same time loop, history repeating, both of us losing the girl we loved all over again. Somehow, we still hadn't let ourselves learn from the past. Somehow, we fucked it up again.

I spared a glance at Jeremy Gilbert, a few seats down from me, the dead expression in his childlike brown eyes hitting me somewhere to the core. I didn't know how or why, but it did. The last of his family, his only remaining blood, wiped clean from his life like chalk off a blackboard. All of his aunts, uncles, grandparents, immediate family, everyone was gone and let's face it, the kid was doomed for life given his choice of friends. Vampires, witches, werewolves, hybrids; not good company to keep, but I had to admit that I was impressed. He was one of the few people, including myself, who had a pair of dry eyes in the room. He'd wept on countless occasions, believe me, I'd seen first-hand, but here and now was the one time that I thought he wouldn't fear shedding his tears. Maybe he was cried-out, maybe he was sick of mourning, maybe he didn't have it left in him anymore, to hell if I knew. My radar for emotions wasn't very keen these days anyway, mind you, it wasn't exactly _hard _to guess what anyone was feeling since Elena's death. Of course, this brought me to Stefan. Sad say for our little Saint. I really shouldn't judge, I was at a loss just as much as anyone else had, but…I wanted to shake my head at the thought. He had been kicking himself to a pulp over what had happened, over listening to her, but then remembered that he should have been able to save both of them, starting a cycle of how useless he was. And he was. He really was useless, I couldn't seem to help him on anything in my minor attempts. I supposed that useless wasn't quite the word for it, not as much as _helpless_. There wasn't anything that I could do for him. I felt responsible for it somehow. I'm sure that somewhere along the way, I had done something that could have saved her had I not done it, I was sure that I was just as guilty. I _felt _it, as much as I wouldn't ever admit it. I felt—a lot. I hated it too. I hated the feeling of being weak. I hated the feeling of wanting to give up, I hated the feeling of guilt, I hated _feeling_. I despised emotion. Was I so weak as to flip the switch? No…at least not yet.

The thought of my bother had momentarily pulled me out of my reverie. I glanced back at the pew behind me, my eyebrows pulling together when I found a vacant seat. Stefan was _right there _just a moment ago, I swear he was. Had I really been so out of it that I hadn't noticed he'd left? My eyes scanned the sanctuary for his sandy-colored disarray of hair, hoping to find a brooding vampire amongst us somewhere, nearly growling in frustration when the crowd appeared to lack the younger Salvatore.

I was suddenly up from my seat and striding tensely down the aisle, feeling many eyes on me as I passed row after row of humans.

If he was on a Ripper binge somewhere, so help me, I'd kill him myself.

* * *

"Stefan?" I called cautiously as I entered the foyer of the Boarding House, hoping that I'd hear something in response.

A thud.

Not exactly the response I had in mind.

I sighed as I followed the sound, finding who I was looking for in his attic of a bedroom, books and items destroyed and strewn throughout the place as Stefan tossed things into a suitcase at random.

"Gonna skip out on your own girlfriend's funeral?" I raised an eyebrow, crossing my arms as I leaned against the doorframe.

"I can't do it, Damon," he muttered, his normally smooth voice erratic, distracted. "I can't stay here, I can't do this."

"What the hell are you talking about?" I asked though it was easy to guess the answer.

He took a deep breath, gripping the sides of the suitcase with strained fists as if clinging to a lifeline. "I can't stay here. I can't sit through her funeral and be reminded of how I couldn't save her, about how I'm the one who got her there in the first place. I can't stay in a place where everyone I know is filled with some of the same light that she carried, people she loved. I can't stay here where everything is a reminder—I can't."

"You can," I said stubbornly, more acid slipping into my tone than I had intended. "You're stronger than you think."

"No," he shook his head, finally turning back to face me. His hazel eyes seemed vacant, empty…dead. He wasn't dealing well, as if it weren't already obvious. "_You're _stronger than you think. _You're _strong enough to put on this façade of not caring, of acting as if it means nothing to you, as if it doesn't effect you when we both know it's all a lie. She's all you cared about and now she's gone. It hurts you and telling you this make you want to rip my throat out, doesn't it?"

"It doesn't," I muttered, my eyes narrowing as I stepped away from the door, walking further into his room.

"That's a lie, brother," he scoffed, a dark humor glinting in his eyes.

Well, _that's _never a good sign.

"You're strong enough to deal with this," he repeated firmly, zipping his suitcase in one swift motion. "You can get through….but I can't. I can't, Damon…" he trailed off in a whisper, shaking his head.

"Where do you plan on going?" I asked with raised eyebrows, as if the question could ever stop him from going.

"I don't know."

"What are you going to do?"

"I don't know."

"What—"

"For the love of God, Damon, I don't _know_!" he snapped, his jaw going taut as I slowly came to realize that we were in each other's faces. His eyes flickered to the door behind me. "Brother," he said sharply, his voice giving off an undefeatable ultimatum.

I glowered in response, sidestepping without a second glance.

I didn't move again until I heard the sound of tires pulling out of the driveway.

* * *

**Present Day**

"Can I get you anything else?" Matt asked me through clenched teeth, his blue eyes flickering down to my nearly empty glass of whiskey.

Uneventful. There wasn't any other way to describe the past few months. Elena; gone. Alaric; gone. Stefan; gone. Hell, I didn't even have anyone decent to drink with anymore. I couldn't exactly play "legal guardian" for anyone when the _adolescent_ — Ha! Sick joke — who was supposedly under my legal care was nowhere to be found. No need for vampire council when no vampires have been raising hell in the first place. It was all just uneventful, slow. I normally spent my time at the Mystic Grill or at home, passing my time with the same boring activities. Cleaning, keeping the up place up to date—ha! Just kidding, like I said, I've done not a damn thing.

"Nope. You're not even old enough to serve me, Donovan, so what the hell do you think you can do for me?" I smirked.

"We serve other things than alcohol," he rolled his eyes and started to wipe down the counter with a dishrag, a water stain on his _Mystic Grill_ tee shirt.

I shrugged as I glanced around the generally dead Grill. "Slow business," I commented.

"What do you want, Damon?" he asked finally, sighing. "Small-talk isn't exactly up your alley."

"Then tell me, oh wise one, what _is_ up my alley?"

"Sleeping with any girl in sight and a severe case of alcoholism."

"Piss off," I hissed, taking a drink. "We both know I hold grudges so pissing me off probably wouldn't be in your best interest."

"Look, you know that I would trade places with her if I could," he said, easily implying that I knew just who he was talking about.

"And you know that I wish it was you," I retorted emotionlessly.

He rolled his eyes again, shaking his head. "You've said that a billion times."

"I was hoping to get a message across," I said with a bitter grin.

Matt stopped what he was doing for a moment to shoot me a look before grabbing the dishrag and walking around to the other side of the bar. "So did you hear?"

"Hear what?" I raised an eyebrow.

"Yesterday I overheard some girls talking about someone new in town, someone who had an uncanny resemblance to Elena Gilbert," he explained.

"Wait, you mean Katherine?" My eyes narrowed as I leaned my elbows on the wood paneling of the bar. "Katherine Pierce? She's here?"

He nodded. "At least that's what I've heard, unless there's another Doppelganger that we don't know about."

I pursed my lips in thought. What the hell did she want? Hadn't she caused enough damage? If she had done her homework, she'd have known that Stefan wasn't in town, so why did she come back? If she was here to fuck shit up then I was afraid she would be disappointed with the lack of things to screw with in the first place. I shook my head as I hopped up to my feet, tossing a few bills down for my drink. "Keep the change," I muttered to Matt as I started for the door.

Uneventful and slow had suddenly turned to suspicious and interesting. I honestly wouldn't mind checking it out for myself.

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**A/N:** Thanks so much for reading, you have no idea how much it means! Please subscribe and review! :D


	2. Chapter 2: Shattered

**A/N: **Thank you to **Cassia4u**,, **LisaLevine**, ** 9**, **squaredplanet**, and the annonymus reviewer, "**E**" who reviewed the last chapter, it means a ton! Thanks guys, the support is amazing, and please check out the roleplay!

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**Chapter 2: Shattered**

I couldn't help the laugh that escaped my lips as I pulled into Katherine's driveway.

It was so unlike her.

The house, I couldn't see her owning it. At all. The newly painted splashes of vibrant green, white, gold and other colors that lined the house, seemingly over-the-top for such a simple town, none of it matched at all but yet it somehow fit together perfectly. Decorative, white lattice spanned the length of the deck, matching pieces going along the balcony that was cozily tucked above the main door. It was...cute, overly-sweet, nearly sickly sweet. I half expected a unicorn to jump out when I wasn't looking.

I rolled my eyes as I stepped out of the Camaro, unable to supress my smirk over the irony of the place as I strolled casually up her sidewalk and knocked on the door.

Katherine opened the door, looking the exact same as she always had, clad in her jeans that were so tight I was suprised she could even walk, along with heeled boots that were God knows how high. She raised a groomed eyebrow at me in slight surprise before replacing the look with a smirk, her nails drumming lightly on the door. "Hmm...I should have known you'd come knocking."

"I'll be on the couch," a familiar voice muttered from a different room before there was the sound of cushions sinking.

I raised an eyebrow before crossing my arms and leaning against the doorframe, flashing a grin. "Stef hasn't been around; thought I might come annoy you for the day."

"Annoy _me_? You think you could annoy _me_? You couldn't annoy me if you tried, Mr. Salvatore," she scoffed, twisting a dark curl around her finger innocently and leaning across from me against the other side of the doorframe. "So how'd you find me?"

"It's Mystic Falls. It isn't exactly hard to compel a mind or two for a simple piece of information," I explained as if it were obvious before smirking. "I guess you're right on one thing though. I'm not really the annoying type, now am I? But pissing you off? That really can't be a difficiult source of entertainment to find with someone as hot-headed as you."

Despite the fact that I'd made it blatantly obvious that I was pushing her buttons, her tempter flickered in her dark eyes. "It's not nice to provoke a lady, Damon. Especially one who's been around as long as I have," she hissed, dropping the curl to glower.

I grinned in amusement, dismissing the fact that I was only hedging her on. "Hmm. Temper. Not a very attractive quality on a woman of your age, you should probably dial that down a bit."

She rolled her eyes, huffing as she pulled away from the doorframe. "You know what? You're right. It's not very appropriate for a _cougar_ of my age to sink to the maturity level of a child. In fact, I'd invite you in, but you might test my _temper_," she replied with a sarcastic smirk, her eyes raking over my form before glancing back into the house, the door still hanging wide open.

My eyes followed her gaze, taking in the light wallpaper and elegant setup of the interior. At least what I could _see_. I smirked. "Nice little place you've got yourself. It's so oddly welcoming and warm and girly and so...really, it's not _you_."

Her scrutinizing gaze felt heavy on my face. "That's funny, you say that as if...as if you _know_ me. I...You know what? I'm just going to save myself the hassel and get it over with," she said flatly before stepping around to grip the door, gesturing with an arm as she plastered a fake smile onto her full lips. "Damon, would you like to come in and check out my nice little girly unicorn island of a home?" she asked in a high, overly-sweet voice.

"I'd love to," I said sarcastically over my shoulder as I was already strolling past her, into the house.

She rolled her eyes, closing the door and walking into a room. I followed. A sitting room, it seemed, though it didn't appear to be used for much other than company. It was too uptight for that, the furnature seemingly too stiff, many glass decorations throughout the place. Shopping bags were strewn randomly throughout the room, seemingly new and unopened since they'd entered the house. Katherine grabbed one of the several wine glasses that sat on the mantle of the fireplace, pouring a glass for each of us and handing one to me. I nodded to her, taking the glass as I watched her walk over to plop down on the loveseat, leaning back to prop her feet up. "So, aside from your weak attempts at annoying me, what else brings you here, Damon?"

"_Obnoxious_ peasants," I heard the same voice from earlier muttered under their breath.

My eyebrows pulled together in confusion for a second before blinking and shaking my head. "What makes you think that I need motive?"

"Because you're obnoxious and won't let a lady sleep," the voice muttered as they entered the room, my eyes doing a double take at the shocking resemblance. Identical to Katherine. Same clear olive complexion, same chocolate eyes, the same beautiful, oval shaped face framed by a fringe of thick brown curls.

My eyes narrowed as I tore my eyes from the look-a-like and blinked when I glanced back at Katherine who shot the girl a look. "Because I _know_ you, Damon. You must have motive. Not unlike most people around here, you don't exactly like me that much, so what _is_ it that you want?" she wondered with a dry laugh, a playful challenge hinting in her eyes when she raised an eyebrow over at me.

"I..." I trailed off as I shook my head. "Katherine, who's your friend?" I nodded over to the girl. "_Another_ Doppelgänger?"

"This _friend_ can introduce herself," she scoffed, narrowing her eyes at me. "I'm Charlotte, Katherine's sister," she said in a suddenly sweet tone, her aura shifting.

"Nope, try again; Katherine doesn't have a sister," I rolled my eyes, noting even from our distance how she was indeed human.

"Well, this is just great," I heard Katherine mutter to herself, catching her refill her wine glass in my peripherial vision.

The girl's familiar gaze narrowed on mine. "Tatiana Petrova."

"Well, there you go," I muttered, recognizing the name from when Stefan and I had dinner with two original vampires, Klaus and Elijah Mikaelson who had told us about how they had supposedly been through the same thing as we had; they had both fallen for a Doppelganger, the _original_ Petrova Doppelganger in particular. Tatiana "Tatia" Petrova was what they had called her. "So the rumors are true, then?"

"What rumors?"

"That the dead is coming back," I stated, taking a sip of the wine Katherine had given me, having to stop myself from believing that it was really poison. I almost laughed to myself. "I didn't really believe them. I'd heard that people had been spotted all over, but I honestly hadn't seen with my own eyes. In fact, I didn't think I would believe _anyone_ until I saw my own bastard of a father come to after a century and a half six feet under. And yet here you are. I suppose that I could have mistaken you, but you're clearly not Katherine and you're _definitely_ not Elena," I added with a smirk.

"Obviously not; Elena is under a headstone for her _own_ stupidity," Tatia said blatantly.

My eyes narrowed as I set the wine glass aside and gestures between the two. "Is it just some natural part of the Petrova gene to be dramatic and rude?"

"Oh, I'm sorry, was _I_ the one who woke a poor girl from sleep?" she scoffed, her gaze narrowed on me.

"You would know," Katherine muttered, finishing off the wine bottle. How fast had she drank that? "Remember, Damon,_ I_ was always the most fun."

"Keep dreaming, Katherine," Tatia scoffed, crossing her arms as she leaned against a wall and smirked at her descendant.

I rolled my eyes. "You know, Katherine, I'm honestly not sure that my memory goes back that far."

"Someone getting old?" I felt Tatia's smirk shift to me.

Katherine snickered. "I gave you the best memories of your life, Damon. Don't even try to deny it." She rolled her eyes as if it were obvious. "With all his bickering, I should really find a bar..._far_ away," she added under her breath when her gaze flicked between Tatia and I.

I pursed my lips, crossing my arms as I watched Tatia walk over to a chair ugh a huff, seemingly deciding to keep quiet. "Far away? Be my guest, Katherine, granted, you must already be drunk if you think _those_ were my best memories."

Katherine's eyes narrowed on mine, her tone sharp. "Fine. Maybe I _will_ go _far away_." In the next second she was out of the room and back before I could blink, walking back in in a leather mini dress that hardly covered anything. Had she no dignity? At _all?_ She bit her lower lip as her eyes scanned the room, roaming quickly over the shopping bags and nick-knacks.

I raised an eyebrow as I looked her over. "Trying to impress someone?"

"And if I was? Should it really matter? You're no different then I am, Damon. You'll do _anything_ to catch a meal and I happen to be extra thirsty tonight, with a human in the house. Besides, that's what you want, right? For me to leave? So I will. You know, it's extremely exhausting, being unwanted," she replied sourly, fingering her keys.

I raised my eyebrows at her. "Careful, there. You almost sound like someone with _actual_ feelings," I said cautiously.

She shook her head. " You know, maybe I am. Maybe I'm not a heartless bitch. But you would never know, would you? You don't know _anything_ about me, Damon. You only know _what_ I want you to know. I'm sorry I'm not a martry like your _precious_ Elena. But you _do_ see where she is now, don't you?" she hissed, slamming her bag down as she stared me down. "And now you've sucessfully won. You've pissed me off."

Tatia's gaze was cold and heavy on me, but I ignored it and rolled my eyes, taking a step towards Katherine. "Did you think that maybe if you didn't place yourself so high up on a pedestal, that if you didn't _twist_ and _manipulate_ everyone's minds, that maybe, just _maybe_, you might get someone to like you, maybe even _love_ you? You act like everyone owes you some sort of respect when all they seem to be to you is some little puppet."

I could hear Tatia laugh under her breath, earning an incredulous look from me before Katherine pulled my attention back to her. "_Love_? How do you think that sounds to someone who has never _expirenced _it? Nobody's ever truely loved me, Damon. I don't even know what love _is_. How can I be _anything_ but what I am if nobody has ever shown me how to? Not the simple kind of love that makes people to want to sit on the porch with eachother grey haired. I'm sorry I'm not a perfect person. But you know what I _am_? I'm a survior. Do you know why? Because I've done everything in my power to lose my humanity for good..." She paused, her eyes dropping the floor. "But somehow it always finds it's way back in." she murmured quietly to herself.

I found myself staring at her his face blank and resisting the urge to gape. "Are you _really_ that stupid?" My voice was oddly calm.

Her head snapped up, her dark eyes suddenly blazing. "Stupid? You're calling someone who outsmarted _Niklaus Mikaelson_ for 500 years _stupid_? Obviously you don't know the meaning of the word, but please, _do_ enligten me. _Tell_ me why I'm stupid, Damon," she said, taking a step closer.

I took a hard solid breath before speaking. "You have been so close. _So_ close to having people care about you, and you take it all for granted, take advantage of them, and them push them away." I hissed, staring her in the eyes, acid coloring my tone. "You don't know what love is? Then what the hell was that when you told me that you 'loved' Stefan more than me? What the hell were you feeling for him, then? What do you think it was when I was shot down by my own _father_ to save you, someone who supposedly didn't even _care_ about me? That, Katherine, was love. I loved you, Elijah loved you, even _Mason Lockwood_ loved you and you just throw it all away! So don't you even dare go feeling sorry for yourself about how you're alone, because you had your chance! You brought this on yourself," I snapped, vaguely aware of Tatia's small gasp. I didn't love her. I hadn't for a while. I did...once upon a time, at least. Perhaps I was moody from Elena's passing, but something made me determined to make her understand, to make her _feel_ the pain that she had caused.

"Then _why_ are you here? _What_ do you want? You want to see me suffer? Congratulations! You didn't love me, Damon. You were in love with the _idea_ of love. I was not the person you were supposed to be loving. We all make mistakes, Damon. Mine was ever denying that I loved you. I was in love with the idea of loving you, too. _That's_ why it worked." She slammed her hand down in frustration. "But, hey, if anyone knows about making sacrifices to survive, then it's you. How many times did you risk your life for girls who have _always _loved Stefan more? At least I admit that I did at one point love you."

"You realize that turning off your humanity will do nothing for you, right? I mean, you said it yourself. It's a vampire's greatest weakness. No matter how hard you try to shove it out, it always finds its way back in. I wouldn't have believed it if it weren't for Elena, but you know what? Those human feelings that cause _me_ so much pain to bear...I'd rather be locked up with those forever than ever flip that switch off ever again. And that is what is truly going to come back to bite you in the ass, Katherine. One day you're going to have all of those feelings out to explore inside of you and what will you be left with?"

"And when that day comes, you'll be there to gloat in my face and say I told you so. And you know what? I am _sorry_. I'm sorry for screwing up your life, I'm sorry! I'm _so_ damn sorry! I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry! " she yelled repeatedly.

I stared at her, trying hard not to gape. I was...stunned, never thinking that I would ever hear those words come out of her mouth. So simple, but so rare. I couldn't think of anything to say, even though it really shouldn't have been so hard. I could see in her eyes that her walls slowly started to crumble, shatter, her words ringing oddly true. I could almost hear her breaking.

"I'm sorry," she whispered one last time, seemingly just as stunned as I was at what she'd said. She turned away as if deserperately not to tear up, her hand finding it's way to her chest as if she couldn't breathe.

I bit my lip for a second, analyzing her. I could honestly say that I hadn't ever seen her so vulnerable, so hurt. "Katherine..." I murmured, unsure of what I was really going to say.

"W-What?" she said quietly, her tone guarded as she refused to face me.

I heaved in a breath before sighing. "I...uh...sorry, I shouldn't...I shouldn't have come, should I?" I muttered, my eyes floating to the ground, still unsure of what my thoughts were.

She finally, slowly turned back to look at me with a small smile, much to my disbelief. "I'm actually kinda glad you did...as crazy as that probably sounds," she muttered, tucking a dark curl behind her ear as she shook her head. I could have sworn that I'd seen a tear dewing in the corner of her eye before she blinked it away.

Tatia watches the pair quietly, still sitting in her same spot with an awed look on her face.

I gave a small nod, trying not to show emotion on my features. "Yeah...crazy sounds about right. I haven't heard that in a while," I murmured softly, a humorless chuckle at the end, glancing at Tatia's awed expression as she watched us thoughtfully.

She looked away. Fuck. What had I said now? "Crazy," she muttered, more to herself than I. I internally groaned when she bit her lip and walked out of the room, hearing cupboard slam shut. I glanced at Tatia who was staring at me with a smile. What the hell? I raised an eyebrow at her in response.

She shrugged and moving out of the room as well. I followed her into the kitchen. "What's wrong, Katherine?" Tatia asked curiously, walking leaning against the doorframe with a worried expression on her face.

Katherine ignored Tatia's question, not answering as she took a drink from a vodka bottle that she must have found before we made it into the room. I leaned against the wall, silent as I watched the Doppelgangers, Tatia moving from her place in the door frame to stand next to Katherine who turned away, her gaze focused on the basin of the sink.

" Feeling. Feeling.. feeling." Katherine muttered. "Why?! Why can't you people just do what you've been doing for years and hate me?! God, would someone _please_ tell me that I'm drunk?" she said, her voice sounding of denial and confusion.

"You're not drunk," Tatia murmurs soothingly, rubbing Katherine's shoulder in a comforting manner.

"Actually, considering the amount that she's been drinking—" I was cut off by Tatia's sudden death stare. I showed my palms in defense, sighing.

"Yeah. Drinks. Alcohol. Those are good things right now. I don't know if I want to remember this in the morning. Either way, when this vodka _does_ wear off and it will , then I'm going to remember making a complete fool of myself..." Katherine rambled.

"You haven't made a complete fool of yourself," I disagreed in hopes that her dramatic breakdown was over.

"Where'd it go?" she muttered to herself, tipping the bottle upside down skeptically when it was empty.

"I stand corrected," I muttered.

"Oh, God," Tatia muttered, shaking her head and leaning against the countertop. "Please do not get _too_ drunk," Tatia pleads reasonably, rubbing her temples as she watches Katherine.

Katherine shot a glance my direction, almost accusing, cursing me for making her feel.

I bit my lip. "Um...Katherine, it might be a good idea for you to go to bed..." I trailed off slowly. She was either tired, dramatic, hiding something, or a lightweight...probably all of the above.

"I agree with Damon," Tatia announced, watching Katherine warily.

Katherine squinted. "W-Who _are_ you? You look like me, little bitch," she hissed at Tatia, narrowing her eyes as she took another sip of wine before shifting her gaze to me, whispering as if Tatia couldn't hear. "Who the hell is she-Goddammit! I feel _everything!" _she muttered suddenly, her voice cracking somewhere in her words before even her disoriented state managed to compose itself. Kind of.

"Katherine, you should go to bed," Tatia repeats firmly, as if talking to a child. She placed a hand on Katherine's shoulder, her posture tense.

I sighed, gently tugging Katherine away from Tatia and guiding her towards her bedroom, slightly apologetic as I glanced back at Tatia. Well, at least I _hoped_ it was her bedroom. Sure as hell looked like it could of been from one swift glance at the leather and lace that was strewn about and across the floor.

"B-But...what's going on?" she asked, looking up at me as I towed her along, her eyes wide like a deer in headlights. She seemed rather helpless, it kind of shocked me to be honest. Maybe she was faking the drunk part, maybe she was part bipolar. I couldn't tell, but her humanity was definitely showing. It was hard to know how to react when it was someone like _her_.

I shrugged, opening her bedroom door and pulling her in. "Bedtime, Ms. Pierce."

She stared at me for a moment, her face full of drunken amusement and agony. "How did you...how did you do it? How did you survive the crippling pain of knowing just how deeply you'd hurt people?" she asked as she fumbled and made her way over to her bed and in an attempt to climb in, but fell onto the mattress instead, pulling the covers over herself and reached over for an extra bottle of wine on her nightstand. When had that gotten there?

I reached down and took the bottle from her hand gently, pausing at her question an sitting on the edge of her bed. "Honestly...you have to accept it. Ignore it and just hope that you have the common sense not to make the same mistakes in the future," I murmured even though she was probably wouldn't remember it later anyway. "But it's impossible to stop hurting people."

Her eyes dropped to her covers, her fingers fidgeting with a stung that she found sticking out. "I really did mean it. I really am sorry. Honest," she said quickly, her voice soft. "Thank you," she murmured, looking up at me for a moment before she looked back down, shame coloring her features.

I smiled slightly. "You're welcome, Katherine," I said gently, though the words felt strange on my lips. I wasn't used to being _thoughtful_ or _kind_, especially to her of all people.

"She was lucky to...have you care about her," she continued quietly, making it obvious as to who she was talking about as she laid her head down on the pillow and closed her eyes, seemingly thoughtful as she did.

I sighed, biting my lip and shutting off the light in Katherine's room. "Careful, Katherine. I'm beginning to think that you might be a half decent person after all this time," I murmured jokingly, sincerity working its way in there somewhere.

Katherine's eyes remained shut but a small smirk found her lips. "Careful, I'm beginning to think you care, Damon."

I chuckled into the darkness. "Goodnight, Katherine," I murmured before pulling the door shut, and trudging downstairs, trying to sort through my thoughts when I heard someone muttering from the kitchen. Good God, what _now_?

"Jesus," Tatia hissed under her breath when I rounded the corner, brushing her hair from her face as she contorted her lips before her shoulders jumped with a hiccup. She finally looked up to see me, her vacant gaze barely registering who she saw before returning her gaze to the floor in front of her.

I groaned as I looked over her. "You aren't drunk, too, are you?" I asked bitterly, my eyes fixing on Katherine's vodka bottle in her hands.

"I'm not drunk," she argued, her voice perfectly clear, but I could tell that it was forced.

I could smell the amount of alcohol in her system from where I stood. "I've been around a long time, don't think that you can fool me _that_ easily," I muttered as I swept her up, carrying her to one of the guest bedrooms.

"Put me down! I said I'm not drunk!" she protested with another hiccup, hitting against my chest weakly.

I ignored her protests and kicked the door open with ease. "And I said I don't believe you."

"Dick," she muttered under her breath, crossing her arms over her chest and refusing to make eye contact with me.

I sighed, plopping her on the bed. "Promise to behave?"

"Nope," she replied casually, popping the "p" as she twirled her hair around her finger causing Katherine's image to flicker in my thoughts for a moment.

I rolled my eyes. "I promise that you won't be raped in your sleep or anything, now get to bed."

She rolled her eyes, sending a hateless glare. "I will go to bed when I want to." She crossed her arms, though her eyes drooped.

I huffed. "Goodnight, Tatia," I stated as an ultimatum, closing the door softly and running through the house at vampire speed, sweeping the place for all of the alcohol within their reech and walking out to my car with it so that they couldn't drink more than they had. I set the bottles and cans in the passenger seat of my blue Camaro, blurring around to the driver's seat and sitting in it for a moment, closing my eyes as I rested my head back.

Today hadn't gone as planned at all. I never got my answer, I didn't know as to _why_ Katherine was in Mystic Falls, though I somehow was hardly all that fired up about it. My anger was subdued and preoccupied by curiosity. I'd been right; uneventful had turned into strangely interesting. I came here to find an answer to a simple question and walked out having had the weirdest day. I'd spent the day with a crazy ex and her look-a-like, not to mention that they both looked identical to the dead girl that my brother and I had fought over. I'd seen them both end up drunken and sleepy. Well, I wasn't so sure how sleepy Tatia actually was, but I didn't really give her much of an option. Hell, Tatia Petrova awas back from the grave, you would think that _that_ would at least throw me for a loop, but no. I'd been..._caring_. My nose wrinkled in disgust. No, no that doesn't sound like me, especially not where Katherine was concerned. She was just the last person that I'd want to ever drink with...at least that's what I would spend the night telling myself.

But despite all this, despite the fact that that house had been nearly infested with Doppelgangers, despite my out-of-character acts, one specific thing stuck out in my mind.

Had I _really_ flipped Katherine Pierce's humanity switch back on?

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**A/N:** Thanks for reviewing, please review!


	3. Chapter 3: Dance With Me

**A/N: **Yes, there will seem to be many Damon/Katherine, or Damon/Katherine/Tatia scenes...true, very true. It's simply what happened, I kind of was looking for some other roleplays to squeeze in here, but none of them seemed to fit. **_So I dedicate this chapter to all of the Datherine shippers out there! *cough* Alan. *cough* ;) You'll get a lot of it._**  
Also, big thanks to **Cassia4u** (I LOVE this chick, she's flawless, and one of the greatest people I know! ;) Check her out!), **Capt. Hazard**, **LisaLevine**, **squaredplanet**, and **HEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEY **(Sweet name, bro!) for their reviews on the last chapter! You guys are amazing!**  
**

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**Chapter 3: Dance With Me**

I huffed, parking outside of a bar on the outskirts of Mystic Falls, swiftly getting out and walking through the small lot. I'd been wracking my brain all night since supposedly flipping Katherine's switch. I shouldn't have been able to. I mean nothing to her, and though I knew I didn't have much difficulty with pissing her off, it still shouldn't have been enough. Perhaps it was a good thing. Maybe she'd use more logic and be more cooperative...I almost snorted. Right. It was Katherine Pierce of all people, the woman who'd been running from a big bad Original for over five hundred years. A plastic spoon would be more cooperative than she could ever fathom.

I shook my head as I walked into the building, glancing at the bar before deciding against it and taking a seat at an empty table. When a waitress came over, I glanced down at my watch. 10:07. Damn. Too early. I needed something to curb the craving for blood in the pit of my stomach. I normally paid better attention to my personal needs than that, it was odd actually finding myself hungry for a change. Hopefully caffeine would help so I didn't jump a child or something. I'd have to go hunt someone later. "I'll just have a black coffee..." I said with a huff, trailing off when I caught sight of a familiar head of brown curls looking dead, the only sign of life from it being that they were hitting their head on the surface of their table repeatedly. "Make that two," I added, flashing a charming smile to the waitress. She blinked and walked off.

Of all people. In the world. There were billions upon billions of people on the planet, and she had to be the one who happened to be here. I rolled my eyes, nodding to the waitress when she returned with two mugs. She mumbled something under her breath that I didn't really catch. Granted, I really wasn't listening. I sighed, grabbing the mugs and walked over to Katherine's table, placing one in front of her. "This might be the first time I've seen a vampire actually hung over."

"I'm not_ hung over_. I'm just plain _miserable_. Is that caffeine? Give me some," she muttered as she took one of the mugs and took a sip, her eyes down. "Now my _sister_. I assume _she's_ hung over."

I took the seat across from her, rolling my eyes. "Give up the façade, Katherine, we both know I'm not that dumb. She's not your sister," I sighed. "Though I do agree, she's probably not so hot this morning either."

She brushed it off with a shrug. "What happened last night? I mean...I remember _most_ of it. I remember spilling my guts out like an idiot...and I remember going to sleep...what happened after that?" she asked, finally lifting her suspicious gaze.

I shrugged, resting my hands behind my head as I leaned back in the booth. "Oh, nothing _too_ bad. I just came downstairs and Tatia was sitting on the floor, completely hammered. Needless to say, you weren't the only Petrova Doppelganger whose drunk ass I had to haul off to bed," I explained, smirking sarcastically. "You're both lightweights."

She shook her head. "Sorr—" she cut herself off sharply before relaxing with a sigh. "She's like watching a three-year old. It's a little overwhelming, I've never really been a mother and now I have to watch her every move because she can't figure things out," she replied softly, her voice weary.

Again, I still didn't understand this side of Katherine. I'd gotten so used to her hostile, temperamental side that I honestly wasn't sure that she really had a soft side, much less that she would show it much, humanity or not. "Aw, she'll be fine. All you've gotta do is show her the ropes of modern world and then you can have your life back to how it was before."

Tucking a curl behind her ear, she shook her head. "It's not that simple. I...I sort of made her a promise..." she trailed off quietly as she sipped her coffee and then placed the mug back on the table.

"What kind of promise?" I narrowed my eyes, leaning forward in my seat and resting my elbows on the table.

"I promised to...help her...and keep her safe. I promised to protect her or die trying," she said, her voice unsure, hesitant.

I raised my eyebrows. "And what do you get out of it?"

She narrowed her eyes at me. "I got the only thing I wanted from her; her trust," she snapped, crossing her arms.

_There_ was the Katherine that I knew and loathed. Bitchy, snarky, and—wait, _what_? What the hell would she want with her trust? Did she see it as some sort of sick game? She finally got one family member back that she remotely tolerated and...well, I didn't know.

I bit my lip, watching her carefully. "And...why would you want that? No offense..." I added.

She sighed. "She's all I've got. Klaus killed everyone else. Even with my humanity off, I didn't want to be alone anymore. She's _literally_ all that I have, and I'll be damned if I let Klaus torture her the way he tortured me. Besides, she doesn't have anyone left either. Did you think for one second she'd still be at my house if she had someone else? Just...look, it doesn't matter. I already made the promise and I can't go back on it. I _won't_," she said stubbornly, taking another drink of her coffee before fidgeting with her hands.

I stayed silent, looking out the window as I thought over what she said. What. The. Fuck? I didn't realize that emotions made her soft. I scoffed at the thought.

"Well..." she trailed off. I glanced at her, as she shifted her gaze away, awkwardly glancing around the room. "Aren't you going to say something?" she asked with a raised eyebrow. The same waitress from earlier came to our table, biting her lip as she glanced at me. I raised my eyebrows when Katherine ordered another coffee for the both of us. Mine was hardly even close to being gone, but...oh well, I guess.

I sighed, scrutinizing every angle of her prominent features, normally sharp and mischievous but somehow having abnormally shifted into something more soft and innocent. True innocence, not her seductive innocence that I'd fallen for more times than I'd ever say it out loud. "What _can_ I say? That I'm shocked? That I'm kind of baffled that the woman who used me as a little human puppet has suddenly decided to try to be 'good,' if that's what you're gonna call it? I think that saying that I'm _stunned_ is an understatement, Katherine. It's a lot to process."

She looked down, taking her turn for silence as she cleared her throat and shifted her weight.

I stared at my daylight ring and spoke softly. "So why, then? You're only so desperate to change _now_, and all I have to ask is why." My eyes traced over my initial in the silver center of the ring, surrounded by the royal blue color of that lapis lazuli stone that allowed me to walk in the sunlight.

"I wouldn't consider it _change_. I'm still me, I'm still a heartless bitch, I'm aware of that...but I want to more or less _adjust_. Adjust enough to help Tatia...because believe it or not, what you said really hurt me...and it's going to be a long road, but..." she trailed off, shaking her head.

"But...you're going to embrace your humanity?" I guessed.

"Until something comes along to make me upset enough to flip the switch. Until then...yeah. I'm going to try to get through it..." she said hesitantly, nodding.

I nodded slowly as I processed it, crossing my arms after taking another sip of my coffee. "That's very..._adult _of you."

"Well I _am_ 500 years old," she said with a dry laugh, shaking her head.

I grinned. "Well it's about time that you started acting your age. I mean even a hundred years ago, remember when they had just invented football? I was chasing Stef around the yard with one of the first balls while he kept screaming 'What are the rules?!' until you took the ball and ran off with it." I smirked at her, giving her a look. "You know that I wanted to play...or at irritate my brother with it," I said sarcastically, grinning as I nudged her foot under the table, trying to lighten the mood. I wasn't so sure about the thickness that the air had taken.

Katherine laughed with a small smile. "I remember. That was such a fun day..." she murmured, her eyes a hundred years away. "Sometimes remembering...can be a good thing."

"Sometimes it can. Other times it can be a painful thing, but once you look past the pain, sometimes you can see something that's worth remembering," I murmured, giving a small smile, slightly weirded out at how mushy that had really sounded after my effort to make it otherwise, but brushed it off.

"I'll remember that," she whispered with a laugh. I nodded in agreement, chuckling as I dropped my gaze to my mug. "This town really has gotten more boring since I was last around. Must be the lingering smell of sorrow," she commented.

I raised my eyes to shoot her a look. "Sorry, if we knew you were coming, we might have planned a welcome back party or something," I muttered sarcastically.

She rolled her eyes, shaking her head before her gaze landed on the wall that our booth was up against. "It appears someone else is one step ahead of you..." she trailed off, reaching out to pluck a neon printed flyer from the wall. I raised an eyebrow. "Here. Tonight."

I scoffed. "What, so you want to go to a party? Have you forgotten that this is Mystic Falls? The only remotely good parties are thrown by an original or a werewolf, thus; I'll pass," I stated sourly.

She feigned a pout. "Welcome me back, Damon?"

"The only thing I'd do for you is pay for plane tickets to get you the hell out of this country, and most importantly, away from me," I rolled my eyes.

"How sweet of you," she said flatly, fingering the flyer. "There's gonna be a DJ..." she hedged, scowling when I didn't respond. "And drinks..."

"You're tempting me with talk of dancing and alcohol?"

She smirked. "Hey, _you're_ the one who said it was tempting." My gaze turned into a glare, shaking my head. "Please? Don't make me break out my charm."

"You have charm?" I raised an eyebrow, tilting my head to the side. "Last I checked, charm requires some sort of redeeming personality trait."

Katherine snorted, raising her eyebrows and crossing her arms as she leaned back in her seat. "What, like _your_ 'redeeming' personality traits?"

"Fuck off," I muttered, narrowing my eyes.

"You started it."

"Did not."

"Did too."

"No, I didn't."

"You so did," she scoffed, rolling her eyes.

I shot her a look. "What, so we're gonna sit here and argue like children?"

"We aren't — look, that's beside the point, Damon." She shook her head. "You in, or you out?"

"You know what?" I huffed. "Fine. I'm in. Believe it or not, I'd rather spend my night with you than turn down a rare chance for entertainment, especially these days."

"Whoa there, boy, don't get _too_ excited. You're gonna have to do a _lot_ more than agree to a party if you wanna spend the night," she said sarcastically. "I'll bring Tatia."

"Believe me, I could list off a billion people who I'd rather waste my time on." I rolled my eyes before raising an eyebrow. "Tatia? She was dead for a thousand years, and you're going to take her to a loud, crowded room of drunk douchebags and horny sluts?"

"Damon, aren't you normally one of those drunk douchebags going after a horny slut?"

"Never said I wasn't."

She sighed and shook her head. "Anyway, I doubt it'll be all that bad. You said it yourself; it's just Mystic Falls. Besides, what better way for her to adjust to the modern world than to be surrounded by human beings?"

I raised an eyebrow and leaned forward, my elbows resting on the table. "Now, this is just a guess, I wouldn't take any of it literal...but you think that a party is a good influence for someone like her?"

"Why do you care?" Katherine scoffed, leaning forward as well. "Got a soft side for her, Damon? She looks an awful lot like your Elena...who looked like me..."

"Whatever you say," I rolled my eyes, reaching into my pocket to check the time on my phone.

She followed my gaze and cleared her throat. "Well...this was..._nice_. Maybe sometime we can actually catch up instead of solving the problems of the world," she said, laughing as she took out her wallet.

"Yeah. Maybe we won't start World War three next time," I said sarcastically, shaking my head. "Put that away, I got it," I stated, pointing to her wallet.

She chuckled and shook her head. "It's fine, I can do it."

"No really, I got — "

"Let someone do something nice for you for a change, Damon," she said, her smile oddly warm as she got up and pushed her chair in.

I sighed, nodding in slight disbelief.

"Oh, and as for World war three, I'm not making any promises," she added, smirking as she hiked her bag up her shoulder.

"Of course, _I'm_ always looking for a good fight, so if you're ever really feeling feisty..." I pointed out with a grin.

"Just because I said I was trying to behave myself, doesn't change who I am — and you know that I'm _always _feisty," she smirked with a roll of her eyes, putting her hands on her hips as she put a tip down on the table.

I smirked. "Trust me, I know."

She smirked nodded . "Good. Keep that in mind, Salvatore. I'll see you." She winked before walking off. I rolled my eyes as I watched her, unsure of what to make of our conversation. Either I did the stupid thing and believed her, likely to fall into some sort of bullshit plan, like usual, or I did the smart thing and ignored the bitch. I honestly wasn't swayed to trusting her. I probably never would, either, but I wasn't so sure that I was as opposed to her as much, not that I'd ever admit it. Sure, she still made my hair stand up on the back of my neck by merely breathing the same air as me, and sure, she still thought of me as if I were some sort of homeless thief...but...

I sighed, catching her steal one last glance at me before she swiftly strode out of the bar.

* * *

I parked beside Katherine, glancing at the building that she and Tatia were already walking into. We had decided to meet at her house before leaving for the bar, Tatia deciding that she would like to go, but refused to ride in the same vehicle as me. I rolled my eyes at the thought. You would think that Katherine might have filled her in on the fact that if I had truly wanted her dead or harmed, then I'd have done it already. She really wasn't all that bad, though she certainly picked up on some of Katherine's snarky attitude since passing through the veil. To be honest, if one was to meet her, you wouldn't really be able to pick up on many signs that she was from a completely different era. Something that really seemed to blow my mind about her was the fact that she used to hang around the Mikaelsons when she was alive. She was the sacrifice that turned them into vampires. Granted, she was at least logical and didn't trust them when she knew the damage that they were now capable of, and especially trusted none of them after remembering that they were the reason that she had died so young. She was rather timid at times, something that one, like myself, could pick up on after only a few meetings, but still, she was taking the modern world impressively well.

They acted like it was some big event. I admit, the lot wasn't nearly as barren as it had been when Katherine and I were there earlier, in fact, it was rather packed, but still nothing special. The fact that I'd found a place to park was based on pure luck. Music blared from the inside as I followed the doppelgängers, a confident smirk tugging at the corners of my lips.

"What is this horrid noise?" Tatia asked when we were inside, raising her voice as if we wouldn't be able to hear her over the blaring music.

I glanced down at her, Katherine already on the prowl. I rolled my eyes. "It's dance music, Tatia," I stated, scoping out the area. I pursed my lips and stepped around her, making my way to the bar where I was sure to feel right at home.

I leaned against the counter next to a young blonde and smirked. Well, I'd said I would hunt later on...it was later. I leaned in so that my lips were at her ear. "Can I buy you a drink?" I grinned when she nodded, buying shots for both of us. After a few more rounds, I led her out to where the tables and chairs had been cleared to the side to form a dance floor. A cheap one, but it was the most we were going to get out of such a small town. I sighed as we started to move to the music, catching sight of Katherine out of the corner of my eye. She danced closely with some random guy that she'd probably grabbed out of nowhere, licking her lips as she kept her gaze on a vein in his neck. Well, whether she had her switch on or off, she would always remain a vixen. A predatory vixen.

I kept the girl close and ducked my head down to trail slow kisses along the length of her neck, then pulled away to stare into her eyes for a moment. "You're not going to make a sound," I compelled, pleased when she nodded. I smirked and kissed her skin again for a moment before I gave over to my animal side, feeling the shift in my eyes as the whites turned to a blood-red, my fangs protruding out as I discreetly bit into her skin, taking just enough blood to satisfy the craving. Before she could suffer severe blood loss that would leave people suspicious, I quickly licked the remaing drops blood that dewed at the surface of the wound before anyone could see, adjusting her hair to cover up the red mark and compelled her agin. "You won't remember any of this. You're going to go find your friends and forget any of this even happened." I smirked to myself when she nodded in a daze and walked off.

I walked back to the bar, ordering another drink for myself and turning around to lean my back against the counter, watching the humans dance — with one exception. I knew that I didn't plan on feeding on too many humans because I sometimes ended up screwing up my compulsion when I was drunk by wording it wrong or something. I tipped the bartender when he handed my a glass. I laughed to myself when Katherine danced her way over to the bar, snatching someone's shot glass and downing it before climbing onto the bar and crossing her legs. I rolled my eyes and nudged her knee. "I'm going to assume that you're enjoying yourself, Ms. Pierce?" I asked, making a face when my words slurred slightly at the end.

She glanced down at me, a smirk working its way onto her features. "I'd be enjoying it more if you'd dance with me. What about you, Mr. Salvatore? Enjoying yourself?"

I smirked, holding my hand out to help her off the bar. "Of course I am. Hell of a lot better than sitting at your house."

"Agreed," she said with a laugh, taking my hand as she slid off of the bar easily and gently tugged me back over to the dance floor.

My gaze scanned the crowd, my eyebrows furrowing when Tatia was nowhere in site. "Where's Petrova number one?"

"I don't know," Katherine admitted. "She probably got disgusted and left or something." She sighed, dancing along with the beat of the music with me as she glanced around the bar, her gaze cautious and searching, not as if she were looking for a friend, but seeking out an enemy.

I followed her gaze and kept her close, my eyebrows arching in question. "Who you looking for?"

"I'm not looking for anyone. I was just...keeping an eye out for if some unwanted company walks in. I'm rather jumpy lately," she added, sighing and looking back up at me as the song changed.

"Yeah, I noticed that. Is Klaus still out to kill you or did you two make nice recently?"

Katherine huffed. "As far as I know, he's still after me. Even more so now that there's a cure. If he gets it, he'll either destroy it, or possibly use it on me to turn me human and use my blood. Those would be my guesses," she murmured, looking down at the floor.

I bit my lip, thinking over what she said for a moment before suddenly spinning her in a circle so that her back was to my chest. "Then it looks like a certain doppelgänger better live it up while she can," I murmured in her ear, smirking to lighten the mood.

She rolled her eyes with a brief grin. "Don't write out my eulogy just yet." She laughed and then looked down again. "I meant it when I said I'd give up my life for Tatia. But I have to ask you something..." she trailed off, turning her head for her eyes to glance up at me. I nodded for her to continue. "If something happens to me...would you help her out? I mean, I know you probably hate our bloodline just as much as I do, maybe more, but just make sure that she's alright and safe?" she asked softly before looking down with a shudder that she clearly tried to hide.

I sighed, nodding, though I hardly thought about what I was getting myself into. "I promise to. I'll do whatever it takes, at least within my power, to keep her alive."

"Thank you," she replied, spinning back to face me again, locking her arms around my neck. "Makes me feel a little better about this whole Klaus-is-still-out-to-get-me thing," she admitted, laughing, the sound countering an anxious undertone.

I chuckled. "So what are you going to do when he _does_ decide to come after you?"

Katherine shrugged with a sigh. "I can't run anymore, so I suppose if it comes down to it I'd consider going willingly...unless I come up with a better idea..." she muttered, shaking her head. "If I go willingly, he can do whatever he wants with me and he'll never find out about Tatia. I think 500 years is a pretty long life."

Well...that certainly wasn't something I'd expected to hear from her...ever. I looked at her, my eyebrows pulling down. "Katherine, that's been 500 years of manipulating and hiding; that's hardly living, and you know it."

She shrugged, nonchalant despite the topic of conversation. "What goes around comes around, I suppose. I've been damned ever since I met Klaus in England. I've just been delaying my death, Damon. I guess it really doesn't matter what life I lived because it won't matter when Klaus gets back. He'll kill me either way, if he's still hell-bent on his hybrids. Either way I'm screwed, so why should it matter?"

I felt an urge to protest but huffed, not wanting to argue. "Suit yourself. Do you want another drink?"

She thought for a moment and shook her head. "No, thanks," she replied, stepping away from me and walking over to take a seat up on a stool at the bar. When the song changed, she smirked and was suddenly hoisting herself onto the bar, dancing carelessly.

I laughed, walking over and watching her, ordering another drink for myself. By the time my drink finally came, she hopped gracefully down from the bar and took the seat next to me. "I can't help it; I just like that song," she stated with a wink.

I smirked at her. "Really? Oh, I couldn't tell," I said sarcastically.

She rolled her eyes. "So what about you? What's new with you? Enjoying eternity?" she asked, raising an eyebrow as she decided to get another drink, pulled herself up onto the bar once again, but instead of sitting on it she laid down on her side, using her bag as a pillow as she watched me curiously.

I sighed, looking at her and brushing off the fact that people stared at us. "Well, let;s see. My brother left town and I wouldn't be surprised if he was the _Ripper_ again, I spent the last century and a half trying to find a way to bring _you_ back when you actually didn't need saving, and when I finally had a chance of _maybe_ winning Elena over, Rebekah caused her and Matt to drive off that damn bridge while my retard baby bro made the stupidest decision of his never-ending life and listened to Elena when he said to save Matt. How do you think it's been?" I muttered.

"Sounds...rough," she replied, setting her drink down that I hadn't noticed she'd gotten. "Well...if you ever want to..._talk_...then I'm around to listen. I never really had anyone to listen to me when I needed it, so if I could be there for someone else, that would be...alright with me," she said hesitantly, slowly, her tongue stumbling over her words, unsure about what she was actually saying.

I nodded. "Um...thanks, Katherine, I appreciate that..." I flashing an awkward half smile, never having thought that I'd ever be in this position with her in all of eternity. Though I hated her for so long and still do, though she had driven my life into the ground, I was having a hard time denying that he could trust her anymore...okay, maybe not trust, but I wanted to believe her. I didn't, but I wanted to.

"I know what you're thinking. You have no reason to trust me and I don't blame you. I'm not asking to be friends, I was just trying to be..._nice_," she muttered as she pulled herself off the bar.

"I realize that, and I understand, but...picture it this way. Wouldn't you begin to question...literally _everything_ if suddenly Klaus just decided to be kind, offer to do good things, be there for you after giving you centuries of Hell? You can't possibly tell me that you wouldn't be baffled at the least..but I _am_ trying to grasp it the best I can."

"Yeah, I'd be pretty stunned. I know this is...difficult. It's hard on me too. We could always agree to avoid each other and you can pretend I'm still the same manipulative bitch I've always been. I wouldn't hold it against you," she whispered, sincerely.

I sighed, shaking his head. "That wouldn't do anyone any good, now would it?"

"No good? Why not? If Tatia seeks you out, then that's _her_ doing and I won't get involved," she muttered, grabbing her bag as she stuffed her wallet back in.

"What good is pretending? Just leave things as they are so that we don't mess with the status quo? Katherine, are you really so stupid as to see that I hate things as they are? I don't want any of what's going on around me, I want something different. It's selfish and ignorant, but am I known for much else? I'm going to see it through that things change, and if that means that hey, I might see you more often than I'm used to, more often than I _want_ to, then...so be it."

"Right. I should...go..." she said emotionlessly, gathering what little she had brought and strolling out without another word.

Great. What had I said _now_?

* * *

**A/N:** Constructive criticism welcome! Please review!


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